2013 24 Hours of Le Mans Postponed

Conflicts in the global motorsports calendar have the ACO moving the world's most famous endurance race from its usual mid-June slot.

Races come and races go, but some are permanent fixtures on the international motorsport calendar. One of the most prominent among them is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held almost without exception on the second weekend in June. But not next year. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest - the body that organizes the race - has announced that it is postponing the 2013 running. Fortunately the delay is not, as we found with Pikes Peak, due to forest fires or some other disaster.

The reason for the postponement is simply because the FIA asked them to, apparently due to a conflict with a planned Formula One grand prix. Previous years saw Le Mans conflict with an F1 race, forcing fans and manufacturers eager to attend both to choose between the high-profile races. As a result, the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans will be pished back from June 15-16 to June 22-23, with the test day also pushed back to June 9. The FIA and ACO - two competing motorsport governing bodies - never used to get along, but these days collaborate on the World Endurance Championship that's sanctioned by the FIA and includes Le Mans.